Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Prabowo Subianto, chairman of the Advisory Board of the Great Indonesia Movement Party
(Gerindra), is ranked the highest as a presidential candidate, according to survey results released here on Wednesday.

The results of the survey by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate from October 3-8, 2011 in 33 provinces in the country
involving 1,318 respondents showed 28 percent of respondents chose Prabowo as presidential candidate while 10.6
percent chose Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud MD.

Bakrie has proven himself an adroit and ambitious politician
who occupies a fairly unique place among Indonesia's upper-tier business community because he is a pribumi,
or native Indonesian, while the bulk of the country's business establishment is dominated by ethnic Chinese

Surveys
Name Three Presidential Candidates
Indonesia Vote Network (JSI), which surveyed on
October 10 to 15, 2011. Being included in this survey,
Megawati was selected as a presidential candidate
with the highest support

The next Indonesian presidential election will be held in 2014. It will be Indonesia's third direct presidential
election, and will elect a president for a five year term. Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is constitutionally
barred from seeking third term in the election.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Prabowo Subianto, chairman of the Advisory Board of the Great Indonesia Movement Party
(Gerindra), is ranked the highest as a presidential candidate, according to survey results released here on Wednesday.

The results of the survey by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate from October 3-8, 2011 in 33 provinces in the country
involving 1,318 respondents showed 28 percent of respondents chose Prabowo as presidential candidate while 10.6
percent chose Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud MD.

Soegeng Saryadi Syndicate executive director Toto Sugiarto said most respondents had chosen a military figure to
be the country`s next president because they missed a strict leader and therefore 65 percent had chosen Prabwowo.
"33.8 percent of respondents still believe a military figure is fit to be elected president in 2014,"
he said.

Second in the ranking was an academic collecting 17.2 votes, followed by religious figure (12.1 percent), businessman
(9.7 percent) and political party figure (8.9 percent).
The results of the survey done based on a stratified random sampling indicated that the military-civilian dichotomy
has not yet completely vanished.
The choice of a military figure correlates with public desire for the government to focus on corruption eradication.

A total of 40.5 percent of respondents urged the government to immediately settle the corruption and bribery problems.
Other problems needing urgent settlements were poverty according to 29.8 percent of respondents, unemployment (16
percent), mafia operations in all sectors (10.4 percent) and sovereignty (3.1 percent).

About a vice president, most respondents choose an honest and smart person. The two qualities were represented
in Constitutional Court figure Mahfud MD who won 15.6 percent of votes.

Earlier, the Reform Institute issued survey results showing Aburizal Bakrie to be the most popular figure as a
candidate for the 2014 presidential elections. He obtained 13.58 percent votes of 2,010 respondents involved in
the survey.

In the survey Prabowo Subianto was ranked second with 8.46 percent of the votes.

The mid-November announcement that banking scion Nathaniel Rothschild had acquired 25 percent of Bumi Resources,
controlled by Aburizal Bakrie, has largely been met with astonishment by those familiar with the operations of
Indonesia's most famous and notorious businessman.

That is because what Bakrie has done to minority shareholders over the last couple of decades is the stuff of legend.
The Bakrie family empire has nearly capsized twice since the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, the first time bobbing
back to the surface only because a thoroughly corrupt Indonesian government bailed Bakrie out. The second time,
amid allegations of massive share manipulation, Bakrie shares fell by 30 percent and resulted in the closure for
three days of the Indonesian Stock Exchange at the onset of the global credit crisis. That later resulted in a
months-long campaign by furious bankers and shareholders to get their money back after the then-Finance Minister
Sri Mulyani Indrawati blocked another round of bailouts.

Rothschild — a member of one of the world's most respected banking families, and one of te world's most cautious
— now has put US$3 billion into Indonesia, metamorphosing Vallar Plc, a mining investment vehicle, into what amounts
to an Indonesian coal venture. In addition to the US$1.43 billion to Bakrie, he put another US$1.57 billion in
cash and new shares into Berau Coal and Energy, controlled by Indonesia's Roeslani family. Vallar's shareholders
retain only a minority stake in the company.

Southeast Asia has not been kind to minority shareholders. They have regularly taken a fearful beating in Malaysia,
Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines among others. But Bakrie is arguably at the very top of the Asia minority-thumping
pantheon. Even the docile Indonesian Stock Exchange, however reluctantly, gave three Bakrie companies a Rp500 million
(US$55,550) slap on the wrist for misstating cash reserves. After the shares fell off the cliff in the wake of
the global financial crisis, they suddenly caught fire again in May of 2009, with the shares of seven family company
stocks tripling in value on average, causing the exchange to suspend trading in some companies because of suspicions
they were being manipulated.

So the question has to be asked: did Rothschild know what he was getting into? Several news sources have pointed
out that from beginning to end, the transactions only took a few weeks to conclude.

But some market-watchers might not be taking into account Aburizal Bakrie's growing clout. He is hoping to become
the country's next president when elections are held in 2014 and improbably appears to be the front-runner – a
far cry from July 2009, when the Golkar Party, which he now heads, was drubbed in national elections by what appeared
to be a reform movement headed by reelected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, reappointed
finance minister, was clearly out to usher in a new political era in Indonesia.

There was a widespread perception that Bakrie's fortunes would reflect Indonesia's future path. If that is true,
it is depressing. Today Sri Mulyani has been banished, quitting the government to join the World Bank as a managing
director after charging in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Bakrie had been behind the manufacture
of a scandal over the US$710 million bailout of Bank Century in 2008, which at the time seemed poised to drag the
country's banking sector into the muck of the global crisis. The point? To ensnare her and Boediono, the respected
former Bank Indonesia head who became Yudhoyono's vice president.

Yudhoyono seems strangely lethargic in the face of Bakrie's resurgence. Golkar was nominally in the opposition
after the 2009 national presidential election. The president should have been able to stop the action against the
two officials back in October 2009 when he named his cabinet and, at the last minute, Bakrie brought Golkar in
from the cold to rejoin the government. Yudhoyono could have extracted a promise that the Golkar leader would keep
out of the fray. The president was at the height of his political power and personal popularity as a result of
his strong electoral victory.

Instead, Sri Mulyani's resignation in May following months of bitter, highly political and inconclusive hearings
in the House of Representatives, appears to have set the stage for five years of paralysis in which reform stops
and Bakrie and his fellow businessmen go about business as usual.

Bakrie himself appears to be deeply enmeshed in a scandal involving former tax official Gayus Tambunan, who is
charged with amassing vast wealth through taking bribes from corporations to cheat on their taxes. Tambunan has
testified in court that companies that paid him off included subsidiaries of the Bakrie conglomerate. One report
had Tambunan, whose latest shenanigans involve bribing his way out of detention on a regular basis, meeting Bakrie
himself in Bali during a recent tennis tournament. Bakrie's lawyers and numerous Golkar politicians have denied
that tale and preliminary criminal libel charges have been brought by Bakrie against five media outlets for running
the story.

Bakrie has proven himself an adroit and ambitious politician who occupies a fairly unique place among Indonesia's
upper-tier business community because he is a pribumi, or native Indonesian, while the bulk of the country's business
establishment is dominated by ethnic Chinese. In May, he was appointed “managing chairman” of a new government
joint political secretariat at a closed meeting of coalition parties at Yudhoyono's home, just two days after Sri
Mulyani said she was leaving.

It is clear from his close confidants that he has his eye on the presidency, and as Indonesia's most powerful pribumi,
he might appeal to the electorate despite his reputation as a corporate pirate. He is a Javanese, the dominant
ethnic group, which gives him clout that Jusuf Kalla, a wealthy ethnic Bugis businessman and Golkar politician
who served as Yudhoyono's vice president in his first term, was never able to muster. Kalla and Bakrie are fierce
rivals.

Yudhoyono's Democratic Party has no one who looks capable of being a successor. Megawati Sukarnoputri, the leader
of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, known by its Indonesian language initials PDI-P, appears to be
a spent force. Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto, both retired generals, have been sanctioned by international rights
organizations for their roles in attempting to suppress the East Timor independence movement, among other nastiness
at the end of the Suharto era. Vice President Boediono seems to have no political ambitions, and aside from the
tantalizing possible return of Sri Mulyani, whose support is largely limited to intellectuals and commentators,
there appear to be few people at this point to challenge Bakrie.

So maybe Rothschild recognized something longtime Indonesia watchers didn't. Even as a minority shareholder, it
doesn't hurt to be reflected in the glow of the leading presidential candidate, and one who, despite his reputation,
could lead the country – albeit hardly in the direction of reform.

How old is too old to run for president? For Taufik Kiemas, the answer is 68 — the age his wife, former President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, will be in 2014.

Taufik, the chairman of the advisory board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said his wife,
the party’s chairwoman, should reconsider her own plans to run in 2014.
“It would be better if Madame thinks first before moving ahead [in the 2014 elections.] She would be 68 years old
in 2014,” he said.

He said the PDI-P should be looking for a replacement for Megawati. “If we prepare younger members in the next
three years, one of them will certainly emerge. The older members must give way,” he said.
Taufik’s feelings aside, a recent poll by the Indonesian Voting Network (JSI) found that Megawati and Prabowo Subianto,
the founder of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), were the most popular potential presidential candidates
for 2014.

Taufik declined to name any potential young PDI-P candidates, nor did he say whether his daughter, Puan Maharani,
38, would be among those groomed.
For her part, Puan said she was ready to run for president. “As a cadre, I’m ready to be assigned to any position,
especially if it is mandated by the party,” she said. “My grandfather was president, my mother was also president,
and hopefully in 2014 we can win.”

The same family political dynamics were seen during the PDI-P’s last congress, when Taufik pushed for the creation
of a deputy chair post in the party, ostensibly for Puan, which was rejected by Megawati’s backers.
The couple have failed to see eye to eye for years, and Taufik said it was his opinion that Megawati should not
run, not the party’s.

“Bung Karno once said that leaders would always be born if they were well prepared. Every era would give birth
to a leader and they had to be prepared,” he said, referring to the country’s founding president, Sukarno, Megawati’s
father.
He said the country and its political parties needed to do a better job of grooming as many potential young leaders
as possible.

Taufik added that if the PDI-P insisted on fielding the same old candidates in the 2014 legislative and presidential
elections, it risked becoming a laughingstock.
“We once laughed at Suharto when he still wanted to be president at 70. How come we are following in his steps?”
he said.

Maruarar Sirait, a young PDI-P politician, rejected the idea that Megawati was too old and said the party should
throw its weight behind her in 2014.
He said the results of the JSI survey, which was not commissioned by the party, showed that Megawati still had
the support to be a successful candidate in 2014.
“If all the requirements are met, then there is no reason to forbid Mrs. Mega to run for the presidency,” Maruarar
said.

Taufik’s comments also sparked a debate among politicians over age requirements for presidential candidates. Priyo
Budi Santoso, a deputy House speaker from the Golkar Party, said that age should not become an issue for anyone
wishing to serve the state.
“Megawati is also a central figure in this country. If a figure of her calibre still wants to go forward [with
a presidential candidacy] then it should be respected. And the same goes for Aburizal Bakrie. If he is pushed [to
run], do not forbid him,” Priyo said, referring to the Golkar chairman, who will be 66 when the presidential election
takes place.

Priyo said there was no need to rush younger leaders.
“If Golkar wants to back senior figures it should be allowed to, don’t scold them,” he said.

Jusuf Kalla:

Born May 15, 1942

Aburizal Bakrie:

Born Nov. 15, 1946

Megawati Sukarnoputri:

Born Jan. 23, 1947

Wiranto:

Born April 4, 1947

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Born Sept. 9, 1949

Prabowo Subianto:

Born Oct. 17, 1951

Ani Yudhoyono:

Born July 6, 1952

Sri Mulyani Indrawati:

Born Aug. 26, 1962

15 New Parties Register For
2014
Fifteen new political parties registered for the 2014 general elections ahead of the deadline on Monday night,
an official said.
Ronna Nirmala | 12:37 AM August 23, 2011

Fifteen new political parties registered for the 2014 general elections ahead of the deadline on Monday night,
an official said.
Sucipto, a spokesman for the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said the registration closed on Monday at 11:59
p.m.
The Pancasila Democracy Party was the last to register at about 9 p.m. One party that had already registered with
the ministry, the Indonesian Nation Sovereignty Party, withdrew its name on Monday without explanation.

Also on Monday, representatives of the Independent People’s Union Party (SRI) submitted some paperwork to complete
the registration process it started on Aug. 3. SRI has earned a lot of media coverage for a party its size because
of its stated intention to nominate Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the former finance minister and World Bank managing
director, as its presidential candidate for 2014.
Achmad Gelora, a ministry official, said the National Republic Party (Nasrep), founded by Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala
Putra Suharto, the youngest son of the late President Suharto, also registered for the elections.

Other parties of note to register were the National Democratic Party, linked to Golkar executive Surya Paloh, and
the United National Party (PPN), founded by the heads of 12 political parties that failed to win seats in the House
of Representatives in the 2009 elections.
The Insulinde National Prosperity Party (Partai Kemakmuran Bangsa Nusantara or PKBN), founded by Yenny Wahid, the
daughter of the late former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, appears to be the new name for the faction of
the National Awakening Party (PKB) that she has headed for some time.
Yenny said the PKBN had not officially decided on a presidential candidate. She added, however, that “if most of
my supporters agree, then Mahfud will be the PKBN’s sole candidate for the presidency.” She was referring to Constitutional
Court chairman Muhammad Mahfud.

Other new parties include the Satria Piningit Party (Chosen Knight Party), the Republican Works Party (PAKAR),
the Republican Struggle Party, the Independent Party, the One Republic Party, the Indonesian People’s Force Party,
the Thoriqot Islam Party and the
Awakening Great Indonesia Party. The 74 existing registered parties did not need to reregister, but will be subject
to verification, Sucipto said.
Achmad said verification would start this week and continue until Sept. 22. The names of the parties that passed
the verification would be announced about three weeks after that, he said.

Meanwhile, Apung Widadi, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch, said none of the nine parties at the House
had submitted their financial statement for an audit by the BPK, the state audit agency.